Save Time and Significant Resources with Data Matching

Data is the lifeline of any business. Not just the private organizations, government entities also depend on the database for their smooth functioning. From customer information to supplier details, records of inventory and other information, every minute entry in the database makes a huge impact on the overall performance of a business. Companies spend a fortune on gathering data from various resources. An enterprise cannot expect success in the highly competitive world without records of customers, prospects, suppliers and the like. But a task that is more difficult than collecting data is maintaining its integrity.

The success of any business not just depends on a large database, but a centralized and continually refreshed database, which in large organizations gets almost impossible with just manual efforts. Data matching is a process that helps companies remove duplicate data and refresh it regularly. Consistent data matching routines at regular intervals identify multiple instances of the same person and prevent wastage of resources on approaching wrong people. The main objective of data matching routine is to bring out the best records with the most accurate, updated and complete representation of customers.

Functionality of Data Matching Tools

What most of the people know about matching tools used for data is that these remove duplicate data and make it error free. But have you ever thought how does it work? What are the theories and algorithms behind them? So to make it easier for you to understand how these tools help businesses effectively maintain their database, here is the functionality of software used for matching of data.

Before moving on to the process of data matching, you also need to know about the types of data linkage. There are basically two sorts of data linkage:

Deterministic record linkage, which is based matching number of identifiers

Probabilistic record linkage, which is based on the probability of matching number of identifiers

Once the record linkage type is identified the data matching tool starts working on the database. The process starts with blocking, where data is sorted into similarly sized blocks with the same attribute. It identifies the attributes with the fewer chances of change like surnames, color, shape, and date of birth. The next step in the process is matching by assigning a match type for different attributes. For instance, names are matched phonetically. The next step is to calculate the relative weight of different matching attributes like measuring ‘importance’. It helps in calculating the probabilities of matching. The software at the same time un-matches the fields calculated in the previous step. The final step is to assign an algorithm to adjust the relative weight to reach a ‘Total Match Weight’. This helps in a probabilistic match of two things.

Doing all these things manually increases chances of missing important details and overlooking the minute things which might make a huge impact on the overall performance of the business. To ensure that your reports don’t misrepresent the facts, let the software do data matching task for you.

Benefits of Data Matching Tools

As mentioned above, matching data in large organizations is not possible manually, companies invest in different tools. There are many benefits of investing in data matching tools than doing it manually. Check some of the benefits below:

Ease of sharing information: These tools for matching data make it easier for the organizations to share information across departments, branches and segments of the business. In government organizations where rigorous data checks are conducted in various branches across the country to protect the public interest, these tools and software not just match data for duplicacy but also allow the organizations to share the same with various departments.

Better analysis of information:

Data matching software not just remove and refresh the data but also help in the better analysis of the information collected from various sources. It allows comparison of data, recognition of patterns and flagging of doubtful data for further investigation. This also keeps irrelevant information to the minimum and ensures higher standards of accuracy.

More efficient database

In commercial setups, data matching helps companies find out shopping habits of customers to offer their better services and build lasting relations with them. The Higher efficiency of the database stronger will be the relations with the customers. It also helps companies get more happy customers by offering them customized services. With the help of software companies can identify different customer patterns and can decide their future actions accordingly.

Beneficial for businesses catering various sectors

There are many companies serving different sectors. These companies have a larger database with higher chances of losing money and resources on the inconsistent and inaccurate database. With the help of automatic tools for matching data, the enterprises can check and correct thousands of records in a jiffy. Data matching software help companies maintain correct and updated database across verticals for smooth operations.

Limited margin for error

To err is human, but not the software or other technological tools. Chances of inaccurate records for customer and client interactions are high when the database is prepared and maintained by human resources. Use of advanced tools for data matching minimizes the chances of errors and enhances company’s efficiency of operations.

Almost every company in today’s tech-savvy world relies on the high amount of data for various operations. With the addition of new information every now and then, it is essential to regularly refresh data to minimize the chances of errors, data repetition, and data relevance. There are different data matching tools and software available in the market to match varied requirements of businesses like the size of data, type of data etc. Just find the right product and ensure error-free data for increased business profits.

Summary

Article Name

Save Time and Significant Resources with Data Matching

Description

Data is the lifeline of any business. Not just the private organizations, government entities also depend on the database for their smooth functioning.